The theme park occupies 1.5 million square foot of indoor space. IMG Dubai is already home to the world's tallest building, artificial islands, and the world's first hotel with a rainforest. Now it can add the largest indoor theme park to its list of world-firsts.

Measuring 1.5 million square feet, IMG Worlds of Adventure — which opened on August 31 — is a nod to characters from Cartoon Network and Disney's Marvel universe.

The $1 billion (£750 million) theme park was opened by Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid who toured the building on its opening day.

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The theme park occupies 1.5 million square foot of indoor space. That's approximately the same size as 28 American football fields.

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IMG Worlds of Adventure cost more than $1 billion (£750 million) to build and is the latest addition to the city's bid to become an entertainment capital as high-end hotels and luxury shopping malls increasingly dominate the skyline.

IMG

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Dubai hopes to attract 20 million tourists annually by 2020, when the World Expo will visit the city. In 2015, 14 million people visited the city.

AP Photo/Jon Gambrell

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There are 22 rides and attractions in the Worlds of Adventure, including this velociraptor rollercoaster which takes riders around the indoor park before speeding through the surrounding desert.

AP Photo/Jon Gambrell

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Cartoon Network classics like the Powerpuff Girls sit alongside Marvel heroes including the Hulk and Spiderman.

AP Photo/Jon Gambrell

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The idea of an indoor theme park is appealing to locals in a place where summer temperatures reach an average high of 41°C (106°F).

AP Photo/Jon Gambrell

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There are also 25 shops and 28 restaurants and bars — and they're what you'd expect from Dubai. You can buy a pen for 115,000 dirhams ($31,300 or £23,000).

AP Photo/Jon Gambrell

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The Haunted Hotel, pictured below, is a particularly popular attraction. However, visitors on the opening day complained that several of the rides stalled or weren't open.

AP Photo/Jon Gambrell

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IMG Worlds of Adventure is one of several theme parks attracting tourists to the region. Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi is home to the world's fastest rollercoaster, and the $2.8 billion (£2 billion) Dubai Parks and Resorts will feature a Six Flags and a Legoland water park when it opens in October.